Under the Starry Sky
by MiyuTanemura
Summary: Sometimes, while everyone is asleep, Natsu and Gray talk. Natsu/Gray
1. Night Sky

**Under the Starry Sky**

It didn't happen often.

But sometimes, during missions, they would talk.

As the girls were sleeping and one of them was on guard, the other would stay up.

The first few times it happened, there was a slightly awkward silence between them. There was also the possibility of the girls waking up and that just added to the tense silence.

Still, mission by mission, the silence eased up a little. Until the proper conversations began.

The thing was, they had an image to maintain - which was something no-one really cared about, just the two of them did - and these situations, with them lowering their guards - rare, for the time being - didn't go with said image. They were rivals before being friends, after all!

Or so they tried to sell that idea…

* * *

They'd camped for the night, after a mission that had been successful but felt like it had dragged for ages.

They girls had already fallen asleep, Gray having been appointed the first shift. Natsu had, bravely endured and was now sitting beside Gray, by the dying fire. They didn't speak, for the moment, Natsu was looking at the flames, entranced and Gray was looking up, at the dark sky. A faint smile in his lips.

Natsu noticed.

"What's that smile about?" He asked, keeping his eyes on the dancing flames.

"Hm? Smile?" Gray looked down, to his friend. "What're you talking about?"

"You've been sitting there, looking up and smiling like a loon. Don't tell that the closeness to the heat," he pointed at the fire, "has melted your brain?"

"Shut up!" Gray retorted, giving the fire mage a small punch on the arm. "I was just looking at the sky. Is there a problem?"

"No." Natsu shrugged and looked straight at Gray. "But your weird smile was creepy."

"What weird smile?"

"Y'know…" Natsu copied Gray's previous position. "Like this… and your face was…" he paused and thought of a huge, juicy steak, accompanied by a pile of rice and another of fries. His face slackened and a small smile appeared fleetingly on his face. He ruined the whole effect by starting to drool a little.

"Hey! I didn't have drool." Gray said in an offended tone.

"You weren't, yes. I just thought of that steak I ate last week. But," he straightened up, turned to Gray, crossed his legs and leaned forward, "what were you thinking about that had you go all… goo-eyed?"

The corners in Gray's mouth lifted slightly. He shook his head before glancing amusedly at Natsu.

"I was thinking about Ur, if that's what you want to know." He paused for a beat to appreciate the shocked look in Natsu's face. "She used to tell us stories, both about and under the night sky. Her stories were… fun."

"It's kind of strange to hear you talking about that…" Natsu muttered. "I know that I'm always talking about Igneel but there are some things that I just _can't_ …" he choked on his words.

"Anyway." Gray continued, pretending nothing had happened. "I have a lot of great memories. Also, she's everywhere, ever since evaporating to the sky."

Natsu grimaced slightly. Gray noticed.

"No need for that. Also, I still feel that I need to thank you. You were…"

"There's no need for any of that!" Natsu waved the other off. "You're a friend and needed help. That's what we're here for!"

Gray's hand fell on his shoulder. Cold and solid and sure.

"I know. But, thanks." Gray said seriously.

"You owe me, then, ice boy. Now, what kinds of stories did you hear?"

Gray let their previous conversation drop and, leaning back, started explaining the constellations and their stories.

Their conversation went on until the embers in the fire died and the first grey light started to emerge in the horizon.


	2. Hurt

**Chapter 2**

Gray came to, slowly.

He was back home, the guild.

That was an odd realization, as the last place he remembered was… somewhere among the rubbles of their fight?

His memory wasn't good which, in part, also explained why there was a bandage in his head. It had a strange, harsh feel.

Slowly sitting up, Gray noticed that he was in a room - again, he didn't remember getting there - which was quite comfortable, actually. Oh, and he wasn't alone in the room.

Weak, orangish light streamed from the window, which was slightly obscured by a shadow. Said shadow moved and Gray finally recognized who that was.

Natsu.

What was the fire breath doing in his room?

"You're finally awake, huh?" The question sliced through the silence, a sharp edge to the words.

"What are you doing here, Natsu?" Gray asked with a sigh. It seemed like his awareness had also awakened a number of aches throughout his body.

"I was waiting for you to wake up, ice brain," Natsu had moved from the window to sit on a chair by the bed. "I had to promise the girls not putting you asleep again but," Natsu's serious look turned into a glare. It was so sharp and heated that could possibly fry an egg. "What the fuck were you thinking, Gray? Charging into the fray like that?"

"Like you're one to talk!" Gray shot back, heatedly. "Do I need to remind you of that certain thing you do all the time?"

"Hey, it's different when I do it!" Natsu argued.

"Not really. Just because it's what you always do, doesn't mean that it's right." Gray retorted, letting himself lean back against the pillows littering the headboard.

"Ah!" Was all Natsu could say before continuing, "but, seriously, you were pretty stupid." He also leaned back on the chair, crossing his arms.

"It doesn't matter now. What's done is done. Also, did we win?" Gray asked, mirroring Natsu's stance.

"We did. Of course. But, Gray, we need to have a conversation. A serious one. You've been acting reckless. That's not like you." Natsu said in earnest.

"I haven't been acting reckless." The headshake that accompanied those words had the room tilting slightly for a few moments. "Wow."

"Yes you are. Do you feel okay?" Natsu stood and took a few steps towards the bed.

"I'm fine." Gray said with a sigh. "So what, I should take my cues from mister reckless, the flame brain, to know what recklessness is?"

"Don't mock me. If I'm saying you're acting off, it's because you are acting off!" Natsu had raised his hand, it seemingly heading towards Gray's shoulder but aborted the movement.

Gray watched him, lips pressed into a thin line.

"I don't know, okay?" He finally said. "I just felt like I had to do it. That thing they were trying to unleash was dangerous."

"So you had to face those guys alone? Couldn't wait for me or Erza?"

"The clock was ticking, okay?" Gray's reply was laced with annoyance.

"Fine!" Natsu half-heartedly relented. "But you don't have to act like that all the time, yeah? We're here too."

"How could I forget?" Gray replied in a mock-annoyed tone, rolling his eyes.

"You better not. Or I'll kick your ass until next month!"

"Ah! As if you could!"

"Of course I can!"

The door opened and the girls entered the room.

"We've heard you yelling," said Erza.

"So we thought you'd be awake. Hey Gray." Lucy continued.

They brought food and so it didn't take long for Natsu to place the trays on the mattress and digging in.

Gray snorted and picked a piece of bread, a small smile at Natsu's antics. And the comfort of being home with his friends.


	3. Party

**A/N:** Just dumb crack!fic. Because life sucks.

* * *

It was still dark outside when Gray awoke. He felt strange, slightly disconnected from his body and with his thoughts coming as if through cotton, muddled and slow.

He tried to take in his surroundings, amid the darkness. Nothing much registered; it was a bedroom but didn't feel like his own and there was someone lying beside him – and another someone across his legs.

 _What the-?_ Was his first thought. Gray tried to sit up but the whole world started swimming around him. So, he went down and tried again – slower.

Finally, Gray sat up, slowly dislodging the person across his legs – was that Lucy? Really? – but, at the same time he kneed the person sleeping beside him. None other than Natsu. Of course.

The sometimes infuriating fire mage was known for having a light sleep. And so it wasn't much of a surprise when Natsu's snore suddenly became a snort and he also came to, seeming as disoriented as Gray imagined he'd been, just moments prior.

"The hell?" was the first thing to spill from the other's mouth.

"Shhhh!" Gray hissed, motioning at Lucy and, he only noticed now, to the other bodies strewn across the floor. He looked at Natsu who had turned to the side of the bed and seemed to be moving strangely.

 _He isn't…_ Gray thought. Only to be proven wrong. _Shit, he is! What the fuck. Also, I need water…_

And with that in mind, Gray carefully got out of the bed and went around it, careful of the people sleeping or comatose – it was probably one of those two…

Once he'd gotten to the other side, he saw that someone had been thoughtful to leave a bucket by the bed, so that meant that Natsu hadn't made a mess. Or, not more than usual, at least.

"C'mon. Let's go downstairs. You need to rinse your mouth." Gray whispered, handing out a hand for Natsu to take.

Which he did.

The pair went to the guild's main hall, slowly taking in the destruction – it had been a Fairy Tail party, after all – and the people scattered across most of the surfaces. Though there seemed to be a pile of people in one much darker corner – best not to dwell on it…

Gray and Natsu sat down at a table that was free and in an area that was slightly isolated. Gray firmly sat Natsu down – he was falling asleep on his feet – and went to get a pitcher of water. They quite needed it.

Finally, the pair was sitting, the silence broken by the odd person shuffling or waking up and stumbling outside. _Maybe it would be nice to go outside, maybe the chill of the night will help with the fuzzy head…_

Beside him, Natsu was chugging water. Gray did the same but much more conservatively.

"Ahhhh, this is the last time I let Cana trick me." Natsu finally said, gasping for air and rubbing the back of his hand across his mouth.

"Wait, what?" Gray asked, surprised. "You _never_ take Cana's challenge. You know that... nope." He shook his head in disbelief.

"Hey, it's not like you were completely innocent. Don't you remember being the first person getting onto the tables?" Was the reply.

"I did not-" Gray began.

"Huh-huh… try to remember. I guess it's not easy – as you also started gurgling booze like it was water." Natsu had the gall to wave his finger in front of Gray's face. Gave the ice mage the itching need to lean forward and bite it.

"No… I…" Gray looked down to the table, frowning. He did remember having a cup in his hand which never emptied, despite his best efforts. "No way."

"Yes way." Natsu replied with a cheeky smile – Gray cursed the low light that allowed him to see the expression. He just kicked him in the shin. The yelp it elicited was good enough, for now. "But don't worry. From what I remember, you didn't act worse than Erza."

"Erza? You're shitting me." Gray said in disbelief. "She doesn't usually-"

"Cana's challenge. Yep…" Natsu nodded to himself, subtly pointing towards the massive hole on one of the outer walls.

"No way. She didn't do that…" Gray shook his head. "It must've been you and Gajeel, in one of your dumb piss contests."

"Nope." Natsu chuckled before grimacing and holding his head in both hands. "Shit." He said after a while. "That was Erza. She wore her Titania armour and… showed her strength? Or something, I really don't remember."

"This was a hell of a party." Gray grumbled, drinking another cup of water.

"Oh yeah… I guess that the old man isn't going to like the state of the guild when he returns…" Natsu downed another cup of water himself.

"But wait a minute, you have a high tolerance to alcohol. How the fuck are you like _that_?" The question was followed by a hand wave in Natsu's general direction.

"Let's just say that Cana's secret stash is deadly. I don't know how she's alive, drinking that." He brought the cup to his lips but still Gray could hear him mumble, "she must have a stomach stronger than a dragon's or something. She's crazy."

That made him snort.

Surveying the mayhem that the floor of the guild was, Gray started to feel his limbs become heavier.

"This is so going to be a nightmare to clean up…" he said finally.

Natsu laughed.

"Hey, I drink to that." Natsu clinked his cup with Gray's.

"You do know you're not supposed to toast with water, right?" Gray asked, arching an eyebrow.

"What? You think that it'll bring us bad luck?" Natsu tilted his head slightly. "Dude, worst luck than this…" he waved his hand, encompassing the whole guild.

"Good point." Gray conceded. "Fine. And now we better head to bed because tomorrow's going to be a hard day."

"You bet. The collective massive hangover is going to be epic." Natsu snickered.

"Don't laugh all that much, you're not exactly off the hook, right?"

"Pshht, maybe I am." Natsu replied, the cheeky smile returning as he stood up quite carefully. Gray followed his lead, mentally rolling his eyes as doing it physically might throw the room off-balance.

"Yeah, yeah, mighty dragonslayer… I'll see you suffer."

"As will I. Hahaha." Natsu whisper-laughed good-naturedly.

The pair returned to the room.

Sleep was necessary as the following day would be a challenge for the whole guild.


	4. Of Loss

**A/N:** This chapter is dedicated to deboome.

Hopefully this is what you want. I had an idea as to how this would go but the boys had to take over it... OTL Also, it's been a while since I read this so... apologies for the weirdness and liberties that might've been taken.

I might do a second part to this. Maybe...

* * *

It wasn't that Natsu didn't believe in the words he'd last uttered to Igneel, their promise and vows.

However…

A few weeks after the end of the whole debacle, Natsu felt himself struggling with what he had to do.

Sure, he had Happy with him at all times and his friends from the guild too.

But…

The _loss_.

He was beginning to realize that he couldn't get over the loss of his father. Not _again_.

He'd gotten over it, barely, once already.

Natsu just couldn't accept that it was over.

So, he struggled.

During the day he would do his best to forget and be with his friends – and he knew that he wasn't the only one going through it, Wendy, Gajeel, Sting and Rogue… they were also going through it so he shouldn't be the one to mope, right?

Things were returning to a small semblance of normalcy, just the tiniest bit. During the day, at least.

Nights were difficult for Natsu. He had Happy with him, he would get better and get stronger and become everything he'd promised to his _dad_.

Yet, he found himself _there_ , at the crater, in the still of the night.

He'd snuck out, body restless and mind fuzzy.

It had been there that he truly had seen Igneel for the last time.

His legs had failed him and he found himself in the same position as he'd been in that fateful moment.

Tears were streaming down his cheeks once more, his fingers scratching the hard soil and leaving groves behind.

 _Why did you have to go?_ He asked wordlessly at the inky sky. He sniffled and ran the back of his hand over his nose. _I'm sorry I'm not doing the right thing. I just-_

His silent conversation with the sky was cut short as he heard a crunching noise. It made him startle and turn around. He expected to be alone not to see…

 _Gray_.

Quickly running his other hand over his eyes, Natsu turned around, a weak glare directed at the intruder.

"I thought I'd catch you here." The ice mage said curtly. He walked surely towards Natsu. Placed one hand on his shoulder.

"What are you doing here?" Natsu replied, maintaining his glare.

"Came to see how you were." Gray replied with a shrug. He let go of Natsu and sat down beside him. Quite close.

"I'm fine." Natsu quickly answered with his usual bravado.

"No, you're not." Gray retorted, letting out a sigh. "It's easy to see that you're not." He added as he rested his chin in his palm, elbow propped up on his knee. He was looking straight ahead, into the darkness, towards the crater they both knew was there.

"I don't know what you're talking about." Natsu said stubbornly. In this, he didn't want to face the conversation head on.

"Flame brain," now the tone of exasperation in Gray's voice was heavy. "You don't have to act like that. You just went through a really difficult thing. Your father-"

"I don't want to talk about it!" Natsu shouted.

"You don't have to!" Gray yelled back. He straightened and his hand came to rest on the fire mage's shoulder once again. He squeezed tightly. "But, we're all here for you, yeah?"

Natsu tilted his head down, letting his bangs hide his expression a bit. Tears fell once again.

"Yeah…" he said in a choked-off voice.

Gray let go and sat back down, offering silent support.

They stayed like that for a long time.

"He said," Natsu started saying in a rough, low voice, still too choked up from the tears, "he had said that he wouldn't go anywhere…" Natsu's words were cut by a sniffle then a hiccup-sob.

Gray waited patiently.

"And now he did. He really, really _did go_." The dragonslayer turned to Gray. "I thought I could get over it, to follow what I had promised but – if he couldn't keep it, how can I?"

"Hey, Natsu. It's not…" Gray let out a heavy sigh, a bunch of difficult to translate feelings crossing over his face. His expression was dark. "I can't tell you how to feel or whatnot. But, we've all gone through difficult things in these last few weeks, right?"

They both let out a mirthless chuckle.

"What I mean is, that pain and loss you're feeling will always be there. And, it's not that you have to heal it and forget about it. From my experience, that's quite impossible…"

"Gray… you're babbling." Natsu stated with a weak smile.

"Shit. Right." Gray ran a hand through his hair. "My point is, we're here for you. If you want to talk, you can come to me. I promise that I won't punch first and ask later."

"Ah, as if I wouldn't punch first!" Natsu quickly replied, his nerves easing slightly up now that they were in their familiar bantering groove.

"You wish." Gray elbowed Natsu.

"I'm not a slowpoke like you, ice princess." Natsu elbowed back.

"But now, really, I understand that this whole situation is really messed up," Gray paused momentarily, his hand tightening into a white-knuckled fist, "but you don't have to stay here alone, suffering and licking at your wounds. Things were one way once, there was too much that was incomplete but now you know. And…"

"I just… I really can't wrap my head around the realization that _Igneel_ is _gone_. It hurts the same as it did before – if not _more_. Because now I know it's final and that weird bright light was the last I saw of him. I don't want that."

"Of course not. But we can't control what happens. But we do know the challenges we have in front of us." Gray affirmed.

"That's another thing… I do know what I have to do. And I think I can do it…"

"What am I hearing? Natsu, the fearless idiot who jumps in headfirst- ah, forget it, it's not right." Gray snorted at himself. "That's just a normal thing though?"

Natsu looked at Gray, arching an eyebrow.

"What?" Gray shrugged. "Sometimes it just seems that what's coming ahead is unsurmountable."

"Pffft. I never expected to hear you say that kind of words." Natsu said, shoulders losing some of the tension. "But you do have a point."

"See? Told ya. You could come to me. What's a rival for?" Gray flashed him a cheeky grin.

"You're not just a rival, dumbass. We're friends. And," a corner of his mouth twitched up momentarily, "thank you for being here."

"Anytime." Gray slung an arm around the other's shoulders. He was elbowed in retaliation.

Natsu shrugged Gray off him and stood up with a jump. He slapped his hands on his cheeks and let out a bellow at the sky. Then huffed. Finally, he extended his hand to Gray.

"Again. Thanks." He said in a serious voice.

The ice mage took it and was hoisted up.

"No problem."

The pair turned their backs to the crater and headed back to Magnolia. Natsu paused and glanced back.

 _I'm still not over this, but I will do my best… dad._

They kept walking in companionable silence.


	5. Of Loss II

A few more days went by.

Natsu was slowly accepting his reality. And he did what Gray had said – he leaned on his friends to be able to overcome this difficult moment.

Days were getting easier to go by and nights… they were still hard but Happy hadn't left his side almost and Natsu had found some solace in that.

Yet.

Despite the good advice, Natsu had suddenly realized that Gray himself had been quite elusive as of late.

He was _there_ and in the blink of an eye, wasn't anymore.

Even Juvia seemed to be more subdued – which was a glaring sign, if he were to think of it…

So, Natsu decided to look for Gray.

But it was hard!

The ice mage sure didn't want to be disturbed. He kept a very low profile and his demeanour was quite dark, in the few times Natsu managed to see him.

If he were Lucy, rambling about her writing sometimes, he might have described that he seemed to have a dark blue aura around him. Even coupled with the odd lightning bolt strolling by. It was an image that had Natsu chuckle to himself for a moment before getting serious again.

It just wasn't normal for Gray to be like that! Sure, the ice mage was moody as hell, a huge pain in the ass but, he interacted. He did enjoy the conversations and to lose his clothes. Gray had been completely clothed the whole time – as much as possible to see, at least – that he'd been with their guildmates. There was a tightness to his shoulders that was unusual. More, Natsu had seen Gray smoking again. It was not normal. The ice mage only did that when-

And suddenly something came to light in Natsu's head.

 _Something has happened to Gray. I must talk to him!_ Natsu thought, making himself a mission of getting a lone moment with the ice mage.

Alas, it seemed like Gray had sensed that Natsu wanted to talk to him.

He'd become quite difficult to track – and find alone.

And that was something that started to grate on Natsu's nerves.

 _Why doesn't he want to talk to me? We all have our wounds, what we went through was not easy to anyone! So, I can talk to him but he can't do the same to me?_ Natsu was thinking as he stomped down a street, after having lost track of Gray. His sense of smell wasn't working at its best at the moment – which wasn't helping any.

Because it did seem like Gray was making a concerted effort to be out of Natsu's way. And when their paths crossed it was always with a lot of people around and they couldn't talk how Natsu wanted to.

It wasn't anything much, really. Natsu just felt that he needed to thank Gray and offer to hear if Gray needed.

But the ice brain just _wasn't interested_.

 _Why does he act like this towards me? To all the others he's the same._ Natsu kept thinking about it throughout the day, even at dinner. The girls had noticed the pensive fire mage and exchanged a look of confusion.

 _Unless he has something against me. Would it be because of our conversation?_ Natsu sat on his bed, arms crossed and a half-assed glare pointed at the pillow. _No. That would be too stupid. Gray wouldn't do that. He's what? Embarrassed? No, it's impossible._

But, the following days did make Natsu start to wonder if he wasn't right about his assumption.

One day, he finally caught Gray alone in a room that was filled with boxes and crates. Some storage room, probably. The ice mage was piling some boxes by the far wall.

"You've been quite busy as of late, huh?" Natsu said in a loud voice, startling the other.

"What the-? Natsu? What are you doing here? Weren't you supposed to be out with the girls?" Gray asked, patting his hands together to get rid of some of the dust.

"I changed it up." Natsu replied with a shrug. It hadn't been difficult. "But what I meant to ask was, what's up with you? You've been acting all weird. You don't hang out with us, you're always going away."

"It's nothing." Gray cut him curtly, his mouth was a fine line already and his eyes were narrowed at Natsu. "I've been busy. Like you."

"Yes, sure. But you're always going away. What was it? Are you embarrassed about our conversation, your advice?" Natsu asked as he took a few steps towards his friend.

"I don't have anything to be ashamed of. It was… good advice…" The last words seemed to be difficult for Gray to enunciate.

"It was. But you're not following it." Natsu continued, nonplused. "Why? That's what I want to know."

"What makes you say that I need to follow that advice?" The defiant tone, coupled with the dark look Gray was throwing and the crossed arms showed Natsu that Gray was feeling defensive.

"Well, I wasn't completely sure but you sure look like it right now…" Natsu replied cheekily, his head tilting to the side. "Or am I wrong?"

"You're w-" Gray quickly replied. Then he paused and let out a sigh. "I dunno," he said despondently, "maybe you're right. But that's a first."

"Shut up!" Natsu pouted. "I'm here trying to be a good friend and you're an asshole."

"I'm no such thing. But," Gray looked down, his arms falling beside him, "thanks. For being a pain."

"Ugh, you just have an ice block for a brain!" Natsu lamented. "Why do you have to be like that?"

Gray started laughing.

After a few moments he stopped, placing one hand on Natsu's shoulder – a gesture that brought them back to another moment.

"Thank you, Natsu. I had missed your dumb antics." He said with a small smile.

"That's not the only thing you missed. C'mon. I know that something happened and that you're not in the best place but… like you said, we're here for you. I can listen if you need. I just… you know that you don't have to go through this alone. Why did you choose to? Because, I _know_ that _something_ happened. And I don't know what, I don't know how much but, you're hurting, you dumbass. And we're here for you."

"I know. But, I don't want to be in the way. I've dealt with so many things, by myself that-" Gray was looking at Natsu as he spoke in earnest.

"But you don't have to be like that anymore!" Natsu cut in. "You had to do that because there was no other option." The last words came out slightly choked. He knew what he was talking about. "You were alone then but aren't anymore."

"It's not…" Gray started to say, evading the sentence at the same time that he avoided Natsu's eyes.

"It is. And I don't know what happened to you but, I'm here. For you." Natsu affirmed with his usual absolute confidence. He had grasped Gray's free hand in both of his. "And I wanted to thank you for being there, for me. It mattered."

Gray's mouth opened and closed, without a sound. Then the tension eased from his shoulders, he slumped slightly.

"Thanks. I don't want to talk about it but… thanks." Gray placed his other hand over Natsu's.

"No problem. And now," Natsu said with a huge grin, "you're coming with me. We're going to have dinner!" And so he started dragging the ice mage from the room.

"W-wait! Natsu! I have things to do!" Gray retorted, letting himself be dragged.

"Nah, it can be done later. Now, we get food!" Natsu's eyes were almost sparkling, with his excitement over food.

"You never change…" Gray scoffed.

"Never. That's what friends are here for!" Natsu winked at Gray, firmly grasping one of the ice mage's hands. _You're not escaping me now!_ He thought to himself.

"Haha, yes, friends." Gray said, amused, as he shook his head fondly.

Together, hands held, they headed to where they were supposed to meet the girls.

* * *

 **A/N:** Hmm, maybe this is the end to this story. I might add more if I ever feel like writing more about these dorks' friendship.

Thanks for reading. Feedback would be nice.


	6. Dinner and Escape

The day had stretched on for more than felt possible, to Gray.

The ice mage had been quite busy throughout, from the wretched early morning until the wee hours of night. It had been tiring, with some running around, plenty of food, conversations and claps on the back. Congratulating.

Yet, Gray wasn't into it.

He was in a weird mood, much more like the darkly cloudy skies than the effervescent happiness that was surrounding him. Too bubbly, too hyper, too noisy.

Gray loved his friends, he felt ecstatic that such a party was being thrown, after everything the guild had been through, after everything his friends - and even Gray - had been through… it was nice to have something to celebrate and relax. Feel the reward of the _family_ getting together to enjoy a meal, music and each other's presence.

Still, Gray wasn't in the right mood.

He did enjoy the party, after the running around that had filled the whole day, and he did relax and smile, chat and tease - there had even been one of the customary brawls with Natsu, a mock brawl, sure. But there was something in the back of his head, a niggling sensation that just wouldn't leave him. It did keep the ice mage from fully relax.

And with that, many hours went by.

The food and drink overflowing, making people loosen up. Mirajane had sang, much to everyone's enjoyment.

And, amid the confusion, no-one seemed to notice when Gray took the opportunity to sneak out, to go search for some peace.

The noise reached beyond the thick walls, Gray noticed as he leaned against the wall and let himself slide down to a sitting position. He closed his eyes, head tilted slightly up, and took a deep breath.

"That's quite the party, huh?" A way too familiar voice snapped Gray from the hazy memories in his mind.

"What are you doing here?" Gray said curtly, a glare pointed at the fire mage.

"I came here to get some air…" was the unappologetic flimsy excuse.

"As if!" Gray countered in a mocking tone. He stood up and turned to Natsu, arms crossing before him. "That's a shitty excuse and you know it. What do you want?"

"Hey!" Natsu shot back, placing his hands on his hips and taking a step closer to Gray. "I don't want anything. It's just that Lucy and I saw you slipping away from the party and she told me to come after you." He turned his head to the side and continued in a low voice, "I don't understand why it _had_ to be _me_ , so yeah…" before continuing in a normal tone, "she also mentioned that you were acting strange for a good part of the day so, what's up?"

"It's nothing. I just don't seem to be in the mood to celebrate my birthday, y'know?" Gray's voice sounded tired, unlikely to the usual Gray.

"Why didn't you say so?" Natsu slung an arm around Gray's shoulders.

"Everyone was so excited and, apparently, needing a legit reason to celebrate that I couldn't say anything." Gray unlaced his arms, hands plunging into the trousers' pockets. "I've been… my birthday is a kind of strange day, okay?"

"Sure, I know how that is. But I still think you should have said something…"

"Are you nuts? Did your brain finally melt completely? With the girls so excited planning? I was a dead man if I had said anything!"

"Hahaha, you're right about it!" Natsu said, still snickering, as he held Gray's wrist. "But it might have been fun!"

"Only for you!" Gray spluttered.

"Good point…" Natsu replied with a shit-eating grin. "But now let's go back, there's still cake!"

"You only think with your stomach, right flame brain?" Gray said in a mock-disparaging tone.

"Only when I have to, ice princess." Was the reply, followed by an infuriating wink.

And, at that point, Gray just wanted to laugh.


	7. Rain

A/N: This drabble did _not_ go where I was planing it to go. What even is this!

But it's probably time to end this story. Maybe just one more chapter. Not that it matters, right?

* * *

"We were lucky to get free rooms in the inn. If we were to follow _your_ plan, we wouldn't have a good night." Gray pointed out the window of his shared room with a certain fire mage.

"Hey, it's not like it would be much!" Natsu counteracted, heavily falling on top of the bed. He bounced a little.

"The girls would've killed you!" Gray said with a laugh. "Unnecessarily sleeping outside so that – what, really? As soon as this rain started, you would've been a dead man."

"It's called being frugal…" Natsu sat up and said with a pompous sniffle. "You should read a book to know what that means."

"Me!?" Gray asked in shock. "I'm surprised _you_ know what that means. Unless… you're just _parroting_ Lucy again?"

"I don't parrot! Wha-what the fuck?" Natsu shot to his feet.

"So, what does that mean?" Gray asked with a slightly too large smile.

"Well… it means not spending too much. And we need to do that because the Master took the whole pay of the last mission." The fire mage paced in the small space between beds, coming to a stop before Gray.

"Well, he only did that because of the damage." Was the dry reply.

"I wasn't the _only_ one doing it!" Natsu said, throwing his arms up. Then he pointed at Gray accusingly. "You were there too!" Gray rolled his eyes while Natsu continued, "and why did it have to be me to be without pay?"

"You weren't the only one, dumbass. If I remember correctly, the whole team lost the pay. And it was a hefty one…" he ended with a sigh, looking out the window.

"In that case, how come you don't think that we should've stayed outside? I don't have money to get my snacks!" Natsu comically wailed as he upended the small pouch he used as wallet.

"That's because you eat too much, flame brain." Was the expected jab.

"No I don't. I eat as much as I need. I could eat more…" Natsu crossed his arms defensively.

"Yeah, yeah, you're a bottomless pit. No wonder you're always eating the team's weight in food." Gray teased.

"And what's the problem of the rain? A little water never hurt anyone." Natsu suddenly returned to the original topic.

"I don't know about you but we, normal people, kind of like to stay dry… you know? No everyone is… _that_ …" he waved his hand distractedly towards Natsu. "So, yeah, I would be pissed if I woke up drenched."

"Right, the ice princess doesn't deal with water in any way other than its frozen form…" Natsu said jokingly.

"I'm not a princess. And I don't mind water, yeah?" Gray glared, his face was on the verge of a pout.

"Hahaha, you're so silly, Gray." The fire mage laughed, falling back to his bed once again.

"Better silly than brainless…" Gray huffed between his teeth.

"I may be brainless, then. But I least I know how to…" Natsu had sobered up slightly and his posture transformed. It became slightly predatory for a beat before Natsu jumped and tackled Gray to his bed. "Attack!"

They fell in a tangle of limbs. And Natsu started his relentless tickle attack.

Gray laughed and tried to counterattack. The pair mock-struggled on the bed, getting to its edge.

"Boys, what do you think-" the door to their room opened and Erza entered, followed by Lucy.

The boys fell to the floor. They tried to untangle themselves – which they did not long after – and stand by their beds. In unison they pointed at the other.

"He started it!" They said at the same time. Hearing it, they paused momentarily, brows scrunched up before looking at the other. "No, you started it." They repeated, yet again at the same time.

"Boys… let's go eat." Erza said with an amused sigh. Behind her Lucy was trying to muffle her giggling.

"Do you think that they still have food? It's so late." Natsu asked hopefully.

"We were wondering if you were already sleeping too." Gray added.

"It's not that late." Lucy replied. "At this time I'm still usually up, reading."

"Doesn't matter! Let's eat!" Natsu started ushering everyone out the room.

"We haven't finished out conversation," Gray said in a low voice.

"Of course not!" Natsu grinned at him.


	8. Fight

**Fight**

The whole day had been stormy.

Both in weather and temperament.

Natsu and Gray had been fighting.

So, the Master decided to lock them in a room and wait. The pair would either kill each other or the rift between them be mended.

It wasn't ideal but, this method had already given good results.

* * *

The air inside the room was heavy and tense. The small window in the far wall not being able to dispel the tension. The long shadows that seemed to engulf everything didn't help either, there was only a small sconce by the door that gave a soft yellow glow. It wasn't enough.

Gray was _seething_.

He'd taken a lot of stupid things coming from the dumb fire mage but today had been the last straw! Of all the asinine ideas…

And then the Master had to put them together in a room, door closed until morning. If they were still there, that was.

As soon as the door had closed with a final _click_ , they had started. The first punch was pulled and from there, a flurry of kicks, punches and even bites followed.

It wasn't fair that they'd been made to wear the stupid bracelets which locked their magic away, that was for sure. If they had their magic, not only would they have been out of that cubicle but the guild would also be finding itself missing a few walls. Alas…

Their fight had lasted for both an instant and an era, both mages feeling like crap when they separated, stumbling back and siting by opposing walls. Still looking heatedly at the other.

The silence was broken by Natsu.

"Tired already, ice brain?" The words were too familiar and, sometimes, a means of comfort. Not this time around though, the acidic twinge in Natsu's tone still spoke of anger.

"As if. I'm not coddled, like _you_!" Gray's retort was equally venomous. The irritation still too fresh. Gray just wanted to freeze that dumbass and forget him.

They glared at the other. Only the loud noise of thunder made them break the standoff, with them looking out the window. Silence fell like a wet blanket and then a flash came through the window before another rumble of thunder sounded.

Natsu sighed, his body slumping slightly against the wall.

Gray arched an eyebrow. _What the hell is he thinking about?_ He wondered. The ice mage was still beyond pissed and could go on another round to kick some sense into that thick head but… he was sensing some strangeness from the other. This air of _dejectedness_. Though, despite his mind telling him that he could go on, his body was already accusing some aches and pains.

Slowly, Gray stood and took the few steps to Natsu. Sliding down the wall to sit by the other.

They sat like that, looking at the opposite side, stubbornly, and at the distance of a palm at most.

"What the fuck are you doing here?" Natsu grumbled, his question being swallowed by the rumbling noise of the storm outside. "We haven't finished fighting, yeah? I can still kick your ass-!"

A rumble cut off his tirade.

But this rumble didn't come from the outside, oh no.

Natsu's stomach decided that it was time to eat.

Time seemed to become suspended, not even the thunderstorm seeming to be able to break the bubble of silence they'd found themselves in for the moment.

And then Gray started laughing.

He tried to muffle it by clapping a hand over his mouth but it didn't have any effect. He just laughed and laughed, doubling over.

Natsu made an indignant noise. His weird moods from moments before momentarily forgotten.

"Shut uuup!" he yelled at Gray, having to do so to be head above all the noise. It wasn't possible to discern but Gray imagined that Natsu might be blushing in embarrassment. And that just made him laugh more. "It's not like it's so funny. I don't eat since lunch." Natsu mumbled with a small pout, crossing his arms.

Gray didn't know why he felt like laughing so much. It was nothing much, really. But all the emotions that had been so mercurial throughout the day were finally stabilizing and allowing him to be his usual calm self. Well, almost calm, he was still laughing at the silliness. And he couldn't quite put a finger on the reason.

"Okay, fair point, you bottomless pit." Gray conceded, standing up and heading to the far wall, to the lumps of things that seemed to be covered by thick cloths. He hummed distractedly, rummaging through them piles of boxes and letting out a triumphant noise. "Thought so. They wouldn't leave you here without food."

He took an armful of food and placed it on top of a large box – it would act as table. He sat down by it, quickly followed by Natsu. The fire mage started shoveling food into his mouth.

Gray sighed, scrunching his nose slightly. He really wasn't too fond of Natsu's lack of table etiquette. It was pretty much non-existent when the fire mage was hungry – which meant that it didn't appear all that often.

After their meal, it seemed that the air was less heavy. It also seemed like the storm outside had moved on, only leaving rain falling in its wake.

"It's time we had a conversation…" Gray said finally. He was looking very seriously at Natsu.

The Salamander rolled his eyes but looked at the ice mage, waiting and daring him to speak.

"You really need to stop acting so stupidly." Gray started. "You've been told time and again not to do _that_ – and what do you fucking decide to do?"

"I had to! It was for the best." Natsu shot back, frowning.

"Yeah, sure, for the best? Go say that to Lucy who almost died! It Erza hadn't found her…" Gray let the words hang between them.

"I didn't mean for that to happen, okay?" Natsu started back, contrite. "But it was the only option. Also, you've been talking to me, all high and mighty as if you hadn't ever fucked up a mission."

"Not this way." Was the monotone answer.

"Suuuuure. Because, at least you have the intent of dying yourself there, asshole!" Natsu shouted back. "As if that makes so much more sense!" He threw his hands up in the air, annoyed.

"I don't put myself in the line of fire, as if I was immortal." Gray said between gritted teeth.

"No. You do that too, anyway. Why are you trying to come off all high and mighty?" The fire mage asked, his fist punching the top of the makeshift table. "At least I know I might have a bit more of a chance."

"You're just so full of it. And don't care about the consequences." Gray shot to his feet, stepping away from the other. He needed some distance before the urge to punch sense into the other overpowered him.

"I _do_ care about consequences. But in the heat of the moment there are some things that are needed to be done. That's all." Natsu stood and went after the other. The constricted room didn't have much room but they managed to stand at an acceptable distance that was still close enough.

"Fine. So you _say_." Gray had stopped by the door. He sat down beside it, under the sconce that seemed to be emitting a weaker glow. "Doesn't mean that it's true."

"What do you want me to do? Let whoever kick my ass?" Natsu asked, the soft glow not managing to hide the sharp features that were scrunched up in confusion.

"I want you to _trust us_ to be there too." The furious glare wasn't masked by the fact that he was being backlit.

"I do trust you!" The confusion in the fire mage's face deepened. "Why would you say-?"

"Your actions. The thing that landed us here? Lucy hasn't set foot at the guild in a week because of _you_." The words were said in a sharp tone. It was the truth.

Natsu's mouth opened and closed for a moment. He didn't have a reply.

"So, yes. I want you to not do whatever that tiny brain of yours commands without thinking before. I want you to not think that all the heavy lifting should befall upon your shoulders. That you really understand the deep meaning of our family here at the guild." And Gray ended his tirade by kicking Natsu's shin.

The fire mage yelped and fell on his backside. He grunted momentarily before crossing his legs and leaning forward.

"It's not that…" he began, seemingly struggling with the words. "I don't think those things you said. I trust everyone here. We've gone through enough shit for me to know that we're all here for anything. But… you may have a point." He finally conceded, quickly amending his sentence, "but a small one. Just small."

Gray snorted.

"Still. It's something that probably also happens to you. _Better me than them_. And so I go." He ended with a shrug.

"It can't be like that. I've heard my share of sermons about that." Was the reply.

"Me too," Natsu agreed. "But it's not even rational, at some point. I just have to do that."

"I guess that what the Master wanted was for us to realize this." Gray extended his hand, palm up. "Together."

Natsu looked at the hand and then up at Gray before grasping the ice mage's hand.

"Yeah, together." He agreed.

They shook hands, silently coming up to an agreement.

"Guess that now we better sleep, huh?" Natsu said after a while.

"I wonder if that was the plan all along." Gray wondered.

They had sat in the same place as before, during the storm.

"Well then. G'night." Natsu said with a yawn. "See if you can sleep despite all the bruises." He said with a teasing grin.

"Ah!" Gray scoffed. "I won't have that much trouble. I can handle some bruises. But you? I doubt it."

"What's the meaning of that?" The question was punctuated with an elbow pressing against the ice mage's side.

"I guess you know very well what I meant!" Gray reacted with another elbow to the other's side, even though it was slightly more difficult.

They continued bickering and talking until the early hours of morning, when the Master opened the door. He found the pair sleeping, heads and shoulders joined and a very uncomfortable-looking position.

 _The youth's wasted on the youth…_ Makarov thought to himself with a sigh.

* * *

 **A/N:** Hm... another ficlet that surprised me. I had planned for this story to go differently and now I just wonder how in the world did it get here. O.o

Seriously, I really don't have a clue about what happened.


	9. Handfasting Ceremony

Night had fallen. The moon cast its silvery light upon the snowy hill.

Silence reigned.

Gray was sitting at the top of the slope; it was a familiar, almost forgotten place. From an earlier life, almost.

Gray was looking on to the town. The lights of the houses and the smoke that erupted from the chimneys painted a comforting image. A brief smile came to his lips.

It had been too long since he'd felt so at peace. Or maybe the tiredness had finally won him, making him feel so wrung-out that a simple and silly thing such a sleepy town under a blanket of snow calmed him.

Too much time had gone by, he'd made his peace with Ur, with Lyon. A little bit with himself too. If it hadn't been a certain stubborn fire mage to drag him, he wouldn't have come up north. There was no need to confront the past. But, deep down, Gray admitted that he needed this.

Peace had been made with the past.

The wound was still open – it would never really close, he knew that – but it was much more healed.

With a sigh Gray let himself fall back onto the snow, feeling the slightly fluffy, giving embrace of it. He looked at the stars in the dark glossy sky.

And for one everlasting second, everything seemed to set into the right place.

It had been a complicated year. Not just to him but to his _family_ as well. However, if something good had come out of it, it was his relationship with Natsu.

They were still the best friends and rivals but they'd been there for the other through some really hard shit. The rest of the guild as well, of course. But the stronger connection between them had been forged in pain, stubbornness, pride, caring, tears and an unbreakable faith in the other.

It was strange. It was new. It was a new take, an evolution on their long relationship.

Maybe that was another of the reasons why Gray had found himself smiling. Natsu evoked some warmth and comfort. And Gray was grateful for that.

Shuffling noises came from his side and Gray sat up to look at Natsu as he walked towards him.

The Salamander plopped on the ground beside him.

"Isn't it dumb that you're sitting here in the snow, all alone?" He asked promptly, looking down at the town.

"Not really." Gray answered cryptically. "This has always been my place."

Natsu arched an eyebrow inquiringly.

"Long, long ago. It was…" Gray paused and looked up at the sky, "I came here when things got hard. To cool down a little." Both shared an amused smile at the pun.

"It must have been lonely."

"Yes and no." Gray acquiesced. "But sometimes you can be lonely even in the middle of a crowd."

"Being lonely suuucks." Natsu agreed as he started making a snowball.

"If you throw that at me, you're dead." Gray stated calmly.

"Wanna bet?" Natsu asked, grinning cheekily. But then he threw the snowball ahead. They saw it flying towards a tree and heard the noise of the hit against the trunk.

Gray elbowed Natsu on his side.

But then Natsu sneakily contorted his arm so that he was holding Gray's hand.

"What are you doing?" Gray deadpanned.

"Holding your hand." Natsu shot back in his ' _you're so dumb_ ' voice.

"Okay, fine," Gray rolled his eyes. "I guess the question would be, why are you holding my hand?"

"I've been thinking."

"Ohh, that's dangerous. You can't overheat the goo you call brain." Gray teased.

"Shush." Natsu retorted with a grin. "Like I was saying, I was thinking. And what you're saying makes sense. It does happen for one to become lonely. But I have the answer for that problem!" The grin seemed to almost make Natsu glow.

"Okay… and what would that be?" Gray asked cautiously.

"Me!"

Gray blinked uncomprehendingly for a few moments.

"What?" he said at last.

"I'll be it." Natsu raised their joined hands, almost as if he wanted their hands to reach the moon.

"I don't… follow…"

"And you call me slow, ice brain. I'm saying that I'll be here. I won't let you go lonely again. Oh." He said suddenly and let go of Gray's hand to start rummaging on his pockets. With a triumphant noise he removed what seemed to be a piece of string and started to tug at it.

"Hey, I'm not slow. You're the one not making any sense." Gray said with a hint of defensiveness.

"A lady gave me this and… let me just…" he made a few impatient noises as he unknotted the string.

Gray looked on, dumbfounded and curious.

"Done!" Natsu looked up at Gray and held out his hand. "Give me your hand."

Cautiously Gray did so. He clasped his hand in Natsu's feeling the warmth seep into his skin right away. It wasn't overwhelming but, again, comforting and familiar. The fire mage intertwined his fingers with Gray's. Then he put the string over their hands and one handedly made a loose knot.

"I'm making this to tell you that you will never again be alone. I know that the guild is our family but even in there things can get lonely." He held one of the ends of the string and offered it to Gray, who took it, then he held the other. "I heard some people talk about this. So, I am making this promise to you."

"Natsu, are you aware of what you're doing? This is like a promise for life…" Gray started. "Okay, probably not but… to me this is serious…"

"I am serious Gray." Natsu glared at him, conveying his seriousness. "I wouldn't do this without thinking it through before."

"You're kidding me, right?" Now Gray scoffed.

"Okay, that's not the best phrasing," Natsu rolled his eyes. "But I've thought about this and, yes, I understand the meaning and still want it. With _you_ …" he looked slightly down and Gray wondered about the sudden dusting to his cheeks. It couldn't be what he thought, right?

"Oh…" He could feel that his own cheeks were getting warm. "That was a bit sudden. We didn't talk more…"

"You're right. Sorry." Natsu seemed to deflate.

"I'm not saying no, dumbass. Just… give a guy some time to think, yeah?" he stopped Natsu from his attempt to remove the string. He tightened his grip on Natsu for a moment. "This was quite sudden. And… I appreciate it. I would like it." Gray pulled at the string, fastening it on their wrists. "Even if it's still too sudden and we need to have a serious conversation about it."

They sat in silence for a while, under the pale moonlight and in the snow.

"And, whatever we decide, we'll have to do this again, later, at the guild." Gray added.

Natsu just laughed.

"Come on, let's go home." He said finally.

* * *

 **A/N:** This is the end to this story. Thank you for reading until now.

Unbetaed.


End file.
